Three keys to Georgia beating Auburn

On paper, Georgia should handle Auburn.

Here’s the problem with that line of thinking.

You have to toss the records out in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. While in theory the Dawgs should win this one, this also reeks of a game that the Wartigerplainsmen could play over their head and Gus Malzahn coaches as if his livelihood on The Plains depends on it.

Here’s three keys to a Georgia win.

Stop Auburn’s run

In theory, putting the ball in the hands of Jarrett Stidham is a cautionary plan. The trouble with that is that Stidham in a pro-style offense is a lot more dangerous than playing in Malzahn’s offense, which is down a cylinder without a big power back and a Nick Marshall-type under center.

If Georgia makes Stidham beat it, the odds of slowing Auburn to a crawl are good.

Lead early

Auburn is a time that has not met pre-set expectations. When you have a team like that, mounting adversity can cause things to snowball. It’s for this reason, combined with Georgia’s home-field advantage at night, that the Dawgs need to grab control of the game and not look back.

Finish

Here’s the other half of Auburn running into hurdles this year. As we saw last week, it still believes that it can win football games, regardless of the odds. Don’t forget - this team caught lightning in a bottle last season, and many of those players are still on the roster.

Georgia cannot do what the Aggies did last week - take plays off late in the game. If they do, Auburn will make the Dawgs pay dearly.

Go Dawgs